Thursday, March 6, 2014

Toronto Star: "“On those rare occasions, when there are a lot of people who need to get to shelter or home, they could use the transit system,” said Colle. “Those buses are running anyways. We’re spending the money."

This sensible proposal exposes what is wrong with charging fares. Fares are for rationing use, not for revenue. When you charge fares, fewer ride, and that raises the cost per rider by under-using the system. Since the buses are running anyway, why not make them free all the time and maximize their value? What if roads were priced with user-fees [tolls] at their actual cost? There would be a lot of letters-to-the-editor complaining about the wasteful nature of empty roads. And, you are correct if you are thinking that fares do not cover actual costs for buses. That's the point. Get it? Why play that game. Let's just decide what is best and fund it. Polls constantly show that people want more public transit, but the money keeps going to roads.